Waiting
by OddSlashInteresting
Summary: I was bored, so I decided to write a Jim and Pam story. Takes place starting in the middle of Casino Night. Enjoy:)


_This is it, this is your chance to tell her everything. Don't blow it, Halpert._

"I was just, um... I'm in love with you."

Her brain scrambled around, trying to find some kind of logical explanation as to what exactly was going on.

"What?"

"I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but I needed you to... hear it. Probably not good timing, I know that, I just-"

"What are you doing? What do you expect me to say to that?"

"I just needed you to know. Once."

She still didn't have an answer ready for him. She took a moment to think about Roy, who was on his way home. She thought about all of the times he had ridiculed her and her art, and then her thoughts were intruded by other memories of Jim complimenting her art, her sense of humor, everything about her. It seemed like the choice should be easy, but she had been engaged to Roy for years, and they had been dating since high school. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be with someone other than Roy. Then she thought about how he would react if she told him that she was leaving him for Jim. It would not be a very pretty sight.

"Well... I... um... I... I can't."

"Yeah."

"You have no idea-"

"Don't do that."

"What your friendship means to me."

"Come on. I don't want to do that. I want to be more than that."

He wanted to be more than that. She knew exactly what that meant. It seemed like she belonged with Jim, but change was scary, and again she thought about all of the time she had spent with Roy, the years they had been together. She wasn't ready for such a drastic change right now.

"I can't. I'm really sorry if you misinterpreted things. It's probably my fault."

"Not your fault. I'm sorry I misinterpreted... uh... our friendship."

* * *

Why did it have to be so hard?

Why had he even considered telling her the truth?

She had only rejected him, mentioned something about how important his friendship was to her. He had blown it. Now they probably wouldn't be able to go back to being regular friends, like they were before. He couldn't help thinking about the fact that he had just thrown not only his chance at a romantic relationship with her, but their entire relationship, even as friends, out the window.

How could he have been so stupid? There was never a chance that she would even consider him. She was _engaged_, for God's sake. He had just confessed his love to an engaged woman. What was wrong with him?

On the other hand, her fiancée was Roy Anderson, the person the most unlike Pam he had ever met. He constantly teased her and made her feel bad about herself in one way or another. There were many lunch breaks when she would just rant on to him about all of her problems, all of which traced back to Roy.

As these thoughts were running through his mind, he turned around to look at her again, only to see her standing in the middle of the Dunder Mifflin parking lot, just where he had left her, fidgeting with her engagement ring. He turned back around and started to walk away, while letting out a deep sigh. She was all he ever wanted, and she had just sent his dreams crashing to the ground.

Suddenly, he heard the clicking noise of her heels hitting the pavement. He turned around to see where she was going, and was met with the sight of the front doors of the office building closing behind her. He wondered what she was up to, so he followed.

He made sure to wait until her elevator had gone all the way up and come back down before he started his way up the stairs. He tried to be as quiet as he could, but he still felt incredibly heavy and loud. As he emerged from the staircase, he peered through the window separating him and Pam. He saw her small figure leaning against his desk, in a hunched over and insecure position. She was twisting the phone's cord around her finger, fidgeting with it presumably to relieve some of the stress she had just endured. All he could think about was how stunning she looked in her dress, with only part of her hair clipped in the back of her head. This was how she looked every day for the past few years, during the time when he had fallen in love with her. This was the perfect time to do something that he'd wanted to do since the day he'd met her.

"Um, I don't know, Mom, he's my best friend... Yeah, he's great... Yeah, I think I am."

He finally came out from his hiding spot, feeling about as mentally prepared for what was going to happen as he possibly could be. She immediately put on a look of shock, and turned to face his desk.

"Um, I have to go. I will."

His confidence faltered for a bit, but as she turned back around, he remembered why he was here. She stood there, waiting for him to say something. "Listen, Jim-", she began, before she was cut off. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like he had never kissed anybody before. His arms were wrapped around her torso, and before too long, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Her hands shifted positions so that they were now on the side of his head, pulling him in closer. He instantly knew that this was where he belonged. At that moment, everything just felt right.

After another few seconds, she put her hands on his chest and pushed away. She had just remembered her fiancée Roy, who was probably at home right now, passed out on the couch. Immediately, she felt a huge wave of guilt wash over her, when her thoughts were interrupted by Jim.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Before she could come up with a rational answer, her brain blurted out, "Me, too."


End file.
